Apparatus for coating



Feb. 12, 1935. RAlCHE 1,991,118

APPARATUS FOR COATING Filed Oct. 6, 1931 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 12, 1935. P. A. RAICHE APPARATUS FOR COATING FiledOct. 6, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Zak Patented Feb. i2,-1935 A UNITED {STATES 1,991,118 APPARATUS FOR ooArrING' Paul A. Raiohe, Providence, RLI. Applicationflctoberfi, 1931, Serial No. 567,225

18 Claims.

My present invention relates to :the .dipping and coating art, and particular1y.-pertains-to the dipping of rubber articles such as gloves, nipples, and the like.

In the field of the rubber arts, ,a :problem .of ever increasing im'nortanceis that of automatically depositing a :rubber coating of uniform thickness on forms .for rubber .articles. While the method of forming rubber coated articles by dipping is well known, .it has heretofore been difficult to utilize continuous movement of the articles and at the same time both (lip and drain the articles. It is .the principal object of my invention to provide a method of procedure and a mechanism for carrying out this method that will permit continuous movement of the articles to be dipped .and their ,conveying mechanism. I

Part of the problem of producingthe desired coating consists in overcoming .the diflicul y of rin coatin s of uniform thickness. wh existence of this difficulty may ghe said-to zbeldue to two maiorreasons; first, the'laoknfmniform in during the dip n operation, ma ane r in hand d p and s cond, the amenity in controlling drainage from the forms ,as they are removedjrom the dip tank.

Dippi insta i o p o es. :narticularly of the hand dipping type, -have utilized vertical movements of the ,form into -;and out of the dip t k. This vertical movement has been found most satisfactory for ;foi 'ms.containing bends and turns, such as glove forms, but it has heretofore been diilicult to obtain the necessary exact control of the timing and dipping, and to eliminate a thickening on the lower ends of the forms the forms from the tank and draining. Because of this tendency during draining it ,has heretofore become necessary to limit the time allowed for draining, thus causing a thic1; er coating.

Although automatic dipping ,mechanism has heretofore been developed, ,such as for .example disclosed in my prior ,Patent ,1,77.-i =,453, such mechanism has not utilized the vertical movement which has been found .most suitable for complicated forms. This vertical movement has a further advantage in that the drainfrom the dipped forms returns to thedip ,thus c nservin th mate ia and .s mn iiying it control.

A further obiectof .my invention therefore to devise a method and ,apparatus -that will utilize .the vertical dipping ,motion of the ,prior while removing PATENT p hand dipping process and will'posltively control the timing of the dipping and the draining to ensure thickness and uniformity of coating, the preferred procedure including a rotation of the coated forms in order to produce reverse flow of the coating material and thus eliminate 11ocalized thickening.

.With these and other objects and advantageous features in view, the invention consistsof a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and more particularly set forth in the appended claims.

,In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view, partly in sec.- tion, showing the general arrangement 9f coating and dipping apparatus;

2 is anenlarged view showing the movements of the article carriers in the vicinityof the dipping tank;

Fig. 3 is a plan view, Partly in section, of one form of article carrier and its mounting;

,Fig. 4 is a plan view, partly broken away, .of-a modified form of article carrier;

Fig. 5 is an elevation showing details of construction of the modified form; I

,Fig. 6 isa perspective view of a modified form of cot form .holder;

,Fig. 7 is a perspective elevation of a further modified form of glove form holder suitable for heavy forms; and a 8 is a perspectiveelevation of a spring holder suitable for dished or cupped forms.

Referring to the drawings, the apparatus includesan endless conveyor 10, preferably of the doublechain type, with a series of article carriers 11 pivotally secured thereto. For the manand leach tanks 14 mounted in proximity to the conveyor, and suitable mechanism for moving the carriers to dip the articles into the ,tanks in succession, and to change and reverse the position of the carriers so as to ensure aneven coating of the fluid materialon the articles.

.A preferred carrier and control mechanism is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the carrierbeing formed as a plate member 15, provided with suitable reinforcing ridges 16, the sides extending rearwardly as pivot ears 17 which have aligned lateral bushing members 18 formed integrally therewith or secured thereto. These bushings are pivotally mounted on .a shaft .19 secured at its ends to triangular supports an locked to the conveyer chains, thus permitting the article carrier to freely swing from and between the two conveyor chains. The articles to be dipped are secured to the under side of the plate member, any desired number being provided; the number illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 is nine.

To effectively and positively control the movements of the article carriers, gears 21 and cams 22 are keyed to the bushings 18. for cooperation with suitable turning and guiding mechanism. This mechanism includes racks 23, which as shown in Fig. 3 are positioned adjacent each tank to rotate the carriers and dip the articles, and rails or guides 24, which are adiustably mounted to produce a suitable rectilinear movement of the article carriers. The cam 22, as best shown in Fig. 2, is preferably rectangular, thus permitting a rapid rotation of the article carrier whenever desired by proper spacing of adjacent guides 24.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the preferred procedure for manufacturing dipped rubber articles may now be explained. The article carriers being provided with suitable articles or forms, the conveyer brings the carriers adjacent the first tank 12. As each carrier moves upwardly, its gears 21 encounter the racks 23, and the carrier is rotated into the tank 12, the articles or forms moving down in a direction opposite to the upward conveyer movement.

Preferably, the forms are dipped momentarily, but suitable clutch mechanism (not shown) of standard type may if desired be utilized in the conveyer gearing to provide a short dwell of the forms in the dipping tank. The upward movement of the conveyer now lifts the carrier and its forms upwardly to drain, this draining being vertically and over the dip tank by reason of the engagement of the cams 21 with the guides 24.

As the cams 22 disengage from the lower guides 24, the weight of the carrier and forms swings the carrier and thus brings the opposite cam edges of the cams 22 into contact with the upper guides 24, the carrier being rapidly turned to move vertically with the forms upwardly instead of downwardly This reversal prevents local thickening ofthe material at the lower ends of the forms, and thus ensures uniformity of coating.

Further, upward movement produces an engagement of the gears2l with the acid tank racks, and a dipping of the coated forms into the acid tank; a weak solution of acetic acid is preferably used, to set the first coating for the first leaching, which, as shown in Fig. 1, is

, accomplished in a horizontal tank. The first leaching is for a short time; for example, sixty seconds, and water of relatively low temperature, in the case of rubber, 190 F., is used as the leaching agent to prepare the dipped forms for the next dipping operation.

The relatively large leaching period requires the leaching tank to be horizontal and the conveyer to move over it. After rotation of the carrier by the leaching tank rack, it is desirable to support the carrier horizontally during its horizontal movement, and this may be conveniently accomplished by narrow rails 25 mounted on the tank, which ride under the carrier plate member. An upper rack- 26 and an upper guide 27 ensure lifting of the forms from the tank and eliminate danger of contacting of the forms with the tank end wall.

The carrier is now conveyed to repeat the procedure'for a second coating dipping, similar to the first coating dipping, and a second drawing, acid dipping, and leaching, the second leaching being for about ten minutes, however, in water at 212 F. The carrier is then conveyed to a platform or the like 28, where the coated forms may be replaced, or to the usual drying and finishing rooms.

In certain instances, it is desirable to also rotate each form on its axis, in addition to reversing it during draining. This may be accomplished by positive rotation through gearing, or by movably mounting the forms and utilizing gravity.

A suitable construction of carrier for ensuring positive rotation is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. In this arrangement, one of the gears, designated 30, is loose on the pivot bushing, the cam, however, being keyed to the bushing as before. The gear 30 has an eccentric cam groove 31, and a carrier rack 32 is slidably mounted on the carrier plate top 29 and has an end 33 positioned in the cam groove. Each article form is rotatably mounted in the carrier plate and has a shaft 34 projecting through the carrier plate carrying a gear 35, which is meshed with rack 32, or an adjacent gear 35 mounted on a neighboring shaft 34. Whenever rotation is desired, a supplemental rack 36 is mounted to be engaged by the gear 30, the mechanism then producing rotation of each article form. Although a uniform rotation is produced by the cam groove shown, any suitable rotation may be produced by proper designing of the cam groove.

Instead of using a positive gearing arrangement, each form may be mounted so as to swing under the influence of gravity. Thus, in Fig. 6, the carrier plate 15 has form holders 3'7 thereon, each comprising a shaft 38 pivotally mounted in the plate and extending therethrough, a weighted lever 39 being secured to the upper end of the shaft. Although the form may be locked to the form holder 37, it is preferred to use spring fingers 40 dependent from the form holder, and to force a hollow form 41 over the spring fingers. With this form of construction the weighted levers cause the forms to turn as they move into the tanks and as the carriers shift and turn.

Where heavy forms; such as a glove form 42, see Fig. 7, are used, it is preferred to provide a more secure lock than the spring lock shown in Fig. 6. The form is therefore made with an upper hollow sleeve 43 to engage the spring fingers 40, and provided with a bayonet slot 44, and the form holder is provided with a lock pin 45, the combination of the bayonet slot and spring lock ensuring a satisfactory removable securing.

Instead of using two spring fingers 40, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, it may be desirable, for certain classes of articles made with dished or cupped forms or bases, to utilize more spring fingers 41, as shown in Fig. 8. In this construction it is preferred to form the ends of the spring fingers as balls 42 or the like, to prevent scratching.

The improved method and apparatus described above may be utilized for dipping and coating media other than forms suitable for the production of rubber articles. Thus for example metallic or other bases may be painted or coated by suitably securing the bases to the carrier in a detachable manner. In certain construction,

such as for example dished or recessed hollow articles, the article holders are engaged in a manner similar to that shown in my prior Patent No. 1,774,453 to slowly turn the holders and the articles thereon as they pass out of the dip tank, and during the draining and drying period, thus preventing an accumulation of the fluid material in the dished or recessed portions on the surfaces. This movement may also be imparted to the articles as they enter the tank, if desired.

While spring finger locks for holding the articles such as above described have beenifound very satisfactory, particularly when coating small articles, it may be desirable to use magnetic type lock members of known construction which will hold the articles until automatically released for hand removal or for deposit on a removal conveyer, suction clips may also be used, if preferred.

The fundamental principles outlined above are also applicable to the coating of semi-fluid articles, such as for example candies, one desirable method of utilizing these principles comprising the insertion of pins in the carrier which are adapted to enter the articles and retain the articles during the dipping, draining, and drying stages, it being preferred to remove these pins and release the articles before the material sets, in order to permit self-closure of the pin openings.

While I have described specific constructions which embody the principle of my invention, it is clear that desired changes in the size, the number, the relative arrangement and the operation of the 'parts may be made to comply with the specific requirements of individual installations, within the spirit and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In dipping machine, a conveyer, article carriers on said conveyer, a dip tank, an acid tank, and a leach tank in juxtaposition to said conveyer, said tank being stationary means for continuously moving said conveyer past said tanks, said movement being vertical with respect to at least one of said tanks, and means for moving the articles into and out of said tanks as the article carriers are carried past said tanks by said conveyer.

2. In a dipping machine, a conveyer, article carriers on said conveyer, a stationary dip tank in, juxtaposition to said conveyer, means continuously moving said conveyer and said carriers past said tank, means shifting said carriers to move said articles into and outward of said tank during the movement past the tank,

and means restraining the outward motion of said articles in a vertical path.

3. In a dipping machine, a conveyer, article carriers on said conveyer, a dip tank in juxtaposition to said conveyer, means moving said conveyer and said carriers past said tank, means engaging said carriers to move said articles into and out of said tank during the movement past the tank, and means rotating said articles axially on said carriers during their movement out of said tank.

4. In a dipping machine, a conveyer, article carriers on said conveyer, a dip tank in juxtaposition to said conveyer, means moving said conveyer and said carriers past said tank, means engaging said carriers to move said articles into and out of said tank during the movement past the tank, and means rotating said articles axially on said carriers during their movement out of said tank, and during the draining and drying stage.

5. In a dipping'machine, a conveyer, article carriers on said conveyer, a dip tank in juxtaposition to said conveyer, means moving said conveyer and said carriers past said tank, means engaging said carriers to move said articles into and out of said tank during the movement past the tank, means restraining the outward motion to a vertical direction, and means rotating said articles axially on said carriers during their movement out of said tank.

6. In a dipping machine, a conveyor, article carriers on said conveyer, a dip tank in Juxtaposition to said conveyer, means continuously moving said conveyer and said carriers past said tank, means engaging said carriers to move said articles into and out of said tank during the movement past the tank, and means rotating said articles axially on said carriers during their movement out of said tank.

'7. In a dipping machine, a conveyer, article carriers on said conveyer, a dip tank in juxtaposition to said conveyer, means continuously moving said conveyer and said carriers past said tank, means engaging said carriers to move said articles into and out of said tank during the movement past the tank, and means rotating said articles axially on said carriers during their movement out of said tank and during the draining and drying stage.

8. In a dipping machine, a conveyer, article carriers on said conveyer, a dip tank in juxtaposition to said conveyer, means continuously moving said conveyer and said carriers past said tank, means engaging said carriers to move said articles into and out of said tank during the movement past the tank, means restraining the outward motion to a vertical direction, and means rotating said articles axially on said carriers during their movement out of said tank.

9. In a dipping machine, a conveyer, article carriers on said conveyer, a dip tank in juxtaposition to said conveyer, means moving said conveyer and said carriers vertically past said tank, and means positively engaging said carriers to dip said articles into and out of said tank.

10. In a dipping machine, a conveyer, article carriers on said conveyer, a dip tank in juxtaposition to said conveyer, means moving said conveyer and said carriers past said tank, means positively moving said carriers to dip said articles into and out of said tank, and means restrtafining said outward movement to a vertical pa 11. In a dipping machine, a conveyer, article carriers on said conveyer, a dip tank in juxtaposition to said conveyer, means moving said conveyer and said carriers past said tank, means positively moving said carriers to dip said articles into and out of said tank and means restraining said outward movement to a vertical path for a predetermined period of time.

12. In a dipping machine, a conveyer, article carriers on said conveyer, a dip tank in juxtaposition to said conveyer, means moving said conveyer and said carriers past said tank, means positively moving said carriers to dip said articles into and out of said tank, means restraining said outward movement to a vertical path for a predetermined period of time, and means rotating said article carriers to prevent local thickening.

13. In a dipping machine, a conveyer, article carriers on said conveyer, a dip tank in jiuxtaposition to said conveyer, means or turning said carriers to dip the articles thereon into the tank, and means for constraining the outward movement of the article carriers from the tank to a vertically upward rectilinear path ior a predetermined period of time.

14. In a dipping machine, a conveyer, article carriers on said conveyer, a dip tank in juxtaposition to said conveyer, means for turning said carriers to dip the articles thereon into the tank, means for constraining the outward movement of the article carriers from the tank to a vertically upward rectilinear path for a predetermined period of time, and means for rotating said article carriers axially during said outward movement.

15. In a dipping machine, a conveyer, article carriers on said conveyer, a dip tank in juxtaposition to said conveyer, means for turning said carriers to dip the articles thereon into the tank, means for constraining outward movement of the article carriers from the tank to a vertically upward rectilinear path for a predetermined period of time, and means for turning said article carriers through a predetermined arc and again to a rectilinear path.

16. In a dipping machine, a conveyer, articIe carriers pivotally mounted on said conveyer, a dip tank in juxtaposition to said conveyer, means for moving said conveyer and the article carriers thereon vertically past said tank, and means for rotating said article carriers to dip the articles on the article carriers into and out 01 said tank.

17. In a dipping machine, a conveyer, article carriers pivotally mounted on said conveyer, a dip tank in juxtaposition to said conveyer, means for moving said conveyer and the article carriers thereon vertically past said tank, means for rotating said article carriers to dip the articles on the article carriers into and out of said tank, and means for subsequently swinging said article carriers to a selected position.

18. In a dipping machine, a conveyer, article carriers pivotally mounted on said conveyer, rotatable gears operatively connected to said article carriers for imparting rotating movement thereto, and stationaryracks ofpredetermined length adjacent said conveyer in the path of movement of said gears for engaging said gears during movement of the conveyer to rotate said article carriers through predetermined angular displacements;

PAUL A. RAICHE. 

